Questioning the Entrepreneurial State: Status-quo, Pitfalls, and the Need for Credible Innovation Policy

The 2008 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic have led authorities to use ethnocentrism, protectionism, and top-down approaches to guide trade, competition, and industrial development. This open-access edited volume discusses how industrial policies affect risk, incentives, and information for investments, as well as the policy perspectives on new technologies such as AI and its implications for market entry. It also calls attention to the progress of open and contestable markets in a sound economy and society.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 367 pages
Publication date: 24 April 2022
Publisher: Springer Nature Switzerland AG

The 2008 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic have prompted authorities to adopt increasingly inward and ethnocentric approaches to guiding trade, competition, and industrial development policies. The consequences of these policies span from the emergence and apparent success of authoritarian states to the rise of populist and protectionist trends, as well as the evolving academic agendas that fuel the reemergence of top-down industrial policies worldwide. This open-access edited volume features contributions from over 30 scholars with expertise in economics, innovation, management, and economic history. The chapters present unique theoretical and empirical insights into topics such as the impact of industrial policies on risk, incentives, and investment information. They also explore policy perspectives on emerging technologies like AI and its implications for market entry, the role of independent entrepreneurship in increasingly regulated markets, and the debate between market interventions and institutional capacity-building.

Questioning the Entrepreneurial State serves as a much-needed debate on the concept of an Entrepreneurial State. It critically examines the risks associated with top-down approaches to industrial policy, draws lessons from past experiences for future policy design, and emphasizes the importance of open and contestable markets in a healthy economy and society. The book convincingly argues that "creative destruction, innovation, and entrepreneurship are the pillars of economic growth." While the government has a crucial role to play in shaping a dynamic society, industrial policy and state-owned companies often lead to broken dreams and unrealized visions. This important message is conveyed through the pages of Questioning the Entrepreneurial State.

Weight: 581g
Dimension: 235 x 155 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9783030942755
Edition number: 1st ed. 2022